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The Promethean Flame

@theprometheanflame / theprometheanflame.tumblr.com

Created by H. L. Ferrier

Introducing: The Promethean Flame (A PJO Fanfic)

(Canon continuation | Post-Trials of Apollo (and The Sun and the Star) | 4-book series)

Hi! I'm H. L. Ferrier and welcome to the home of The Promethean Flame!

(Trying a new intro post because the original was my first ever Tumblr post and I'm not very happy with the tone 😅)

The Promethean Flame is set 7 years after the end of The Trials of Apollo and is meant to be a continuation of canon. In this series we re-enter the world of PJO and are reintroduced to existing characters (like Percy, Annabeth, Rachel, Clarisse etc.) who are now older and more mature. We see how they react when they are put into new situations and are faced with a threat unlike anything they've seen before!

📕 Themes and Genres

The main theme of the series is the evolving tensions between gods, demigods... and humans. It crosses multiple genres including action, mystery, and romance (even dipping its toes into STEM-flavoured romance).

👥 Main Characters

  • Narina Lin (OC): A mysterious demigod with amnesia (its not a repeat of Heroes of Olympus though!)
  • Adrian Vale (OC): A human scientist
  • Rachel Elizabeth Dare, now twenty-six (and needs no introduction)

Percy and Annabeth aren't main characters but they still play major roles (and have some PoV chapters)! Expect a number of romantic scenes involving a mature and now-engaged Percabeth.

📖 Book I: To Be Mortal

30 chapters | 3 Acts (10 chapters each)

📍Currently Out Now on AO3!: To Be Mortal (New chapters every Thursday)

  • Meet my 2 OCs and see how they force our favourite existing characters to reevaluate everything they think they know!
  • See the lore of the PJO universe expand (and begin to fracture) as mythology meets human science.
  • Witness the first steps towards a full scale Olympian civil war!
  • Act 1 follows a slow-burn mystery arc. Act 2 is very romance-focused. Act 3 ties it all together and is the most action-packed.

Extra Notes:

  • 🎨 Rachel plays a role in this book but is not a main character. She starts to take centre stage in the later books of the series.
  • 👀 Each Act redefines the meaning of the title

What to Expect on Tumblr!

  • Chapter excerpts
  • Behind-the-scenes lore
  • Previews of future chapters
  • Commentary
  • Occasional Illustrations

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy my fanfic!

It all stemmed from an idea I had years ago when I was a child and reading the original PJO series for the first time, so this fic means a lot to me.

I'd love to meet fellow PJO fans, and chat about my fic or just PJO in general! So please feel free to say hi!

New chapters every Thursday

(US time: 7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT)

"The Doctor and The Detective": Chapter 26 of To Be Mortal is out now!

It was hard to pick an excerpt from this chapter to share because of how spoiler heavy it is! But here it is (with only minor spoilers):

By the time the cave came into view, a moss‑fringed mouth cut low into the hillside, [Narina's] breathing had steadied but her pulse hadn't. She rested a palm against the cool stone; hoping to soothe the turmoil beneath her skin. Before she could speak, a voice curved out of the darkness; bright, theatrical, unmistakably Rachel: “I've been expecting you, Dr Lin.” The absurd formality tugged a smile from her. Dr Lin. Three syllables affirming a name she’d only just rebuilt. The weight behind her ribs eased a fraction. She stepped inside and was immediately greeted by scents: eucalyptus, wet mineral, acrylic paint still drying. A faint electric whine from somewhere deeper; Rachel’s studio speakers on standby, perhaps. Sunlight knifed through the skylight and latticed the cave floor in gold dust. Rachel stood with her back to the entrance, brush poised mid‑stroke. Splashes of slate-blue and rust bled together on the canvas like shoreline meeting horizon. Narina’s chest tightened; she hadn’t realised how starved she was for colour until that moment. “I hear someone’s become quite the detective in my absence,” Narina said. Her voice came out softer than planned, frayed around the edges. Rachel set the brush down, turned, and that typical unpolished Rachel smile hit Narina like warm sunlight. In two strides they closed the distance. Arms around shoulders, paint‑cold fingers against fabric, heartbeat against heartbeat. Narina’s breath stuttered once, then fell into Rachel’s steadier cadence. The tension in her muscles dropped a notch. When they separated, Rachel kept a hand on Narina’s forearm a beat longer, anchoring her. "It’s good to see you." Good felt insufficient, but Narina nodded. "You too. I missed this." It had only been two weeks since she left camp, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Literally. In those two weeks, her entire life had changed. A gentle, almost domestic quiet settled. Narina let it stretch, noticing the way the paint fumes layered over eucalyptus, how her own breath slowed even further. Rachel tipped her head, eyes sparking with familiar mischief. “So. Tell me about her. The Narina Lin before all this."

To Be Mortal is set 7 years after the end of The Trials of Apollo. It reintroduces us to the PJO world and our favourite characters (like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase), who are all older and more mature now.

We see how they react when they meet OCs Narina Lin and Adrian Vale, who both raise questions they’ve never encountered before!

The story explores the clash/intersection between Science and Mythology, as well as the growing tensions between gods, demigods and humans!

30 chapter story with 3 Acts. New chapter every Thursday. 

The first Act is a mystery arc, the second is a romantic arc (with STEM-romance flavour) and the third and final act ties it all together (and is the most action-packed!).

I was assigning lyrics from 'Golden' to the Seven, and when I got to:

"Called a problem child 'cause I got too wild But now that's how I'm getting paid"

I couldn't think of anyone that it fits, except the Stolls in your fic universe, bc of their TV show

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Yayy! So glad that little Easter Egg about the Stolls made such an impression on you! It does fit the lyrics very well!

(btw that's such a cool project. I hope you post the results when you're done!)

HI SCROLLSMIT! Look who got a tumblr! 😀 (It's Official_Disney_Princess on AO3 BTW)

Don't really have a question, just wanted to say hi! (Oh, and let me know if this is the wrong place to say hi. Still working out the kinks 😅)

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Hello!!! Welcome to Tumblr!! 😀 I hope you enjoy it here!

And yes, I did figure out that this was you! Speaking of which:

Guys! Official_Disney_Princess on AO3 is a great author!! You can check out their AO3 profile HERE for a really fun Royal AU PJO fic! They also have fics in other fandoms too (like Alex Rider)!

Oh yes, this is absolutely the right place to say hi!

(P.S. if you post about your PJO fic I'll reblog it to my blog!)

Annabeth vs Adrian: A Battle of Wits

Chapter 25 of To Be Mortal, my Post-ToA fic, is out now! Here's a little excerpt from this new chapter:

Chiron leaned forward slightly. “And what is it you want, Adrian?” He looked at them. All of them. Chiron’s patience. Annabeth’s control. Leo’s restless curiosity off to the side. “I want Narina safe.” "That's all?" Annabeth asked. “It’s the only want that matters.” Another silence. This one thinner. Edged. Chiron nodded slowly. “We can work with that.” But Annabeth didn’t move. Her gaze remained on Adrian’s face, as if waiting for something he hadn’t said yet. He stared back, flat and measured. Then he spoke: "My turn." Chiron started to rise, as if preparing to shut the conversation down. But Annabeth stopped him with a small gesture: a hand raised. "Ask away," she said. Adrian kept his voice even, "Why do you follow them? Gods who abduct the innocent. Destroy lives without consequence. Who take what they want and answer to no one." "We don’t know for sure they were responsible for Narina. And we don’t know their reasons." Her response came fast, measured... rehearsed. It felt like a line spoken out of protocol rather than conviction. Adrian suspected she didn't truly believe the words she was saying. "The ends don’t justify the means." His voice was sharper now. "And what about now? They’re punishing their own children. Letting kids die. How do you explain that away?" Annabeth hesitated. He caught a flicker of something unreadable cross her face. Then she drew a breath, as if about to respond. Adrian didn't give her the chance. "You've served them so long, you can’t imagine a world without them. But they have no right to the power they hold." He paused, anger rising steadily now. "And if you can’t see that... you’re blind." He looked at Annabeth, expecting a rebuttal. Something sharp, strategic. But she said nothing. Her eyes flicked away, jaw tightening slightly. And for just a second, something else—something raw—broke through. Hurt. Like his words had reopened a wound.

To Be Mortal is set 7 years after the end of The Trials of Apollo. It reintroduces us to the PJO world and our favourite characters (like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase), who are all older and more mature now.

We see how they react when they meet OCs Narina Lin and Adrian Vale, who both raise questions they’ve never encountered before!

The story explores the clash/intersection between Science and Mythology, as well as the growing tensions between gods, demigods and humans!

30 chapter story with 3 Acts. New chapter every Thursday. 

The first Act is a mystery arc, the second is a romantic arc (with STEM-romance flavour) and the third and final act ties it all together (and is the most action-packed!).

Annabeth Leads Camp Half-Blood in Chapter 24 of To Be Mortal!

This was such a fun chapter to write! I tried my best to highlight Annabeth's strategic mind and leadership skills. This is set 7 years after ToA and Annabeth is in her mid twenties and much more experienced of a leader. Here's a little excerpt!

Annabeth turned to Adrian. "This is Camp Half-Blood's senior leadership. Given the nature of what we're dealing with, we've decided to keep this to just the adults at Camp for the time being." Adrian gave a simple nod in response. Annabeth looked around the room. Years of knowing the people in this room allowed her to read their expressions and body language with ease. Chiron inclined his head slowly and deliberately. Hands clasped behind his back, posture utterly still. She knew that look. He's listening before deciding. Letting silence draw out weight. Clarisse snorted sharply. She muttered something under her breath. Annabeth couldn't make out the words but she assumed it was something rude. "Careful, Clarisse," Percy said mildly. "You're gonna make him feel shy." Clarisse straightened from the wall, arms falling to her sides. She's tense, braced, Annabeth thought. Just as expected... I don't blame her. "You think just 'cause he walked in politely this time we forget how he cut through our defences like an invader last time?" "He came back to help," Annabeth said. "And with her." Her eyes flicked to Narina, who stood just inside the doorway, quiet but steady. Clarisse didn't look convinced. "That supposed to mean something?" "It means she trusts him," Annabeth said. "That counts for something. And you know it, whether you want to admit it to yourself or not." Across the room, Nico hadn't moved. His expression was still and focused. Watching. Measuring. He isn't studying Adrian’s armour. He's watching Narina. Will stood close to him, arms loose at his sides but his weight angled subtly between Nico and Adrian. Not hostile. But ready. Protective, she noted. Will doesn't posture. He buffers. Leo let out a low whistle. "That suit got a name? Or is it just here to loom and breathe like a vengeful space toaster?" Oh Leo... excitable as always. Adrian tilted his head. "Version one." Leo grinned. "We're... going to have to workshop that. That being said, that’s definitely a 'V1' kind of bulk." Clarisse shot him a glare. Leo only shrugged. Annabeth cleared her throat. "We don’t have time for chit chat. Let's get them both up to speed." Silence. No one spoke. It was time for her to lead. She met each set of eyes in turn. Let them know I see their tension. Acknowledge it without apology. "He's not here as a guest. He's here as an asset." She turned her gaze towards Adrian. "What he becomes after depends on what he does next."

To Be Mortal is set 7 years after the end of The Trials of Apollo. It reintroduces us to the PJO world and our favourite characters (like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase), who are all older and more mature now.

We see how they react when they meet OCs Narina Lin and Adrian Vale, who both raise questions they’ve never encountered before!

The story explores the clash/intersection between Science and Mythology, as well as the growing tensions between gods, demigods and humans!

30 chapter story with 3 Acts. New chapter every Thursday. 

The first Act is a mystery arc, the second is a romantic arc (with STEM-romance flavour) and the third and final act ties it all together (and is the most action-packed!).

Chapter 23 of To Be Mortal is Out Now!

Check out a snippet from the latest chapter!

Demigods. Trained from young to fight, to serve the gods. The same gods who, based on mythology, were shown time and time again to be vain, selfish and cruel. The ones [Adrian] had been training for months to fight. They had taken Narina, kept her from him for a year. And then they took it a step further. They wiped her memories, like chalk from a board. Convinced her that she'd been rescued, not kidnapped. He remembered the woman in leather swooping in and carrying away her unconscious body like it was yesterday. He felt the rage struggling to rise up inside of him from just the thought. He took a deep breath and triedto think rationally. For Narina. The demigods served. They obeyed. That were complicit. But... they weren't gods themselves. They didn’t command Olympus. They didn’t order the erasures. That didn't make them innocent. But maybe they deserved the benefit of the doubt. He let the breath out slow. Only then did he notice how tightly his fists had clenched. He reflected on his encounter with the demigods in the forest. The blonde armoured woman with the dagger. The man in the jacket with the sword whom he'd fought. He was powerful, but he'd seemed like he had been fighting to contain, rather than kill. And when Narina called his name and recognised him? They'd let them go. Pulled back. The question that Narina had asked him two weeks ago still remained unresolved. Like a piece of a puzzle that refused to fit. "If they abducted me, why did they let us leave?" He'd tried his best to come up with an answer. To explain it both to her and to himself. To rationalise it away. Pity. Guilt. Strategy. But what if it had been confusion? What if the gods hadn’t told them who she was or that they'd wiped her memory? What if they too had been used? Manipulated? And if they were now being punished for letting them go? That implied defiance. Maybe he had been too hasty to judge them as brainwashed executors of the gods’ will. Overestimated their obedience to the gods. Conflated proximity with loyalty. He dropped his head into his hands. Palms pressed hard against his face. His shoulders didn’t shake. He didn’t make a sound. The Adrian I loved would never have been so callous. He had been fighting for her: Every piece of alloy. every sleepless night. But she was right. Somewhere along the line, he had stopped building for her, and started building against them.

To Be Mortal is set 7 years after the end of The Trials of Apollo. It reintroduces us to the PJO world and our favourite characters (like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase), who are all older and more mature now.

We see how they react when they meet OCs Narina Lin and Adrian Vale, who both raise questions they’ve never encountered before!

The story explores the clash/intersection between Science and Mythology, as well as the growing tensions between gods, demigods and humans!

30 chapter story with 3 Acts. New chapter every Thursday. 

The first Act is a mystery arc, the second is a romantic arc (with STEM-romance flavour) and the third and final act ties it all together (and is the most action-packed!).

LEGO PJO Project: Praetors of New Rome (Books)!

I know this next post was supposed to be Minifigure #39... but I'm not very happy with how that minifigure has turned out, so I've decided to delay that minifigure's debut and instead do a group photo post this week instead! Hope you guys still enjoy it and aren't too disappointed!

Ok with that out of the way... I give you: Jason Grace and Reyna Avila Ramírez: Praetors of New Rome!

I don't know about you guys, but I think they look really formidable together!

If you're interested, you can check out Jason's individual post HERE and Reyna's HERE!

As always, the Camp Jupiter logo were added to the photo in post, as there is no official LEGO CJ print as of now. The original version can be seen at the bottom of this post!

But first... a poll for next week's (group) photo!

Chapter 22 of To Be Mortal is Out Now!

The second chapter of To Be Mortal ACT III: Mortality just released! Things are definitely starting to escalate towards the finale! Check out an excerpt from the newest chapter below:

Narina sat up straighter. "A siege? What kind? By whom?" "It started with silence," Rachel said. "From the gods. They pulled back, cut off most communication. We haven’t heard from Olympus in weeks. Mr. D’s been recalled too, and he’s gone completely quiet. Not even Chiron’s been able to reach him. Honestly, you’re lucky this Iris message even came through. Even that’s been spotty lately." She glanced offscreen, then back. Her voice dropped a little. "Then they did something worse. First, they removed the divine shielding that used to dampen demigod auras. Now our presence bleeds out stronger, louder. Monsters pick up on it. They’ve started gathering beyond the borders." Narina frowned. She hadn't even known Camp had a damping mechanism in place, but it made sense now that she thought about it. That many demigods in one place? Without some sort of damping, Camp would have attracted every monster in the tri-state area. Like what was happening now. "Then, about a week later," Rachel continued, "the magical barrier started failing." Narina's eyes widened. "The barrier?" she interrupted, voice slightly panicked. "When Adrian cut through, did he–" "No! No, its not anything Adrian did," Rachel cut her off. "The hole that Adrian made? It healed up within a few hours after the two of you left." She sighed. "But then the gods decided to weaken the barrier themselves. Not entirely, but every now and then monsters slip through. It’s dangerous. But Annabeth’s set up a rotating guard roster. It’s holding. We’re managing." Rachel looked tired, like someone who had been holding the line for too long. Narina opened her mouth. The panic from earlier was replaced by confusion. "Why would the gods—" She stopped. The pang of guilt returned, sharp and sudden. Her voice came quieter. "It's a punishment, isn't it… Because of me."

To Be Mortal is set 7 years after the end of The Trials of Apollo. It reintroduces us to the PJO world and our favourite characters (like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase), who are all older and more mature now.

We see how they react when they meet OCs Narina Lin and Adrian Vale, who both raise questions they’ve never encountered before!

The story explores the clash/intersection between Science and Mythology, as well as the growing tensions between gods, demigods and humans!

30 chapter story with 3 Acts. New chapter every Thursday. 

The first Act is a mystery arc, the second is a romantic arc (with STEM-romance flavour) and the third and final act ties it all together (and is the most action-packed!).

LEGO PJO Project: Meg McCaffrey (Books, Unicorn Variant)!

Hello everyone! It's been a while, but here is Minifigure #38: Meg McCaffrey in the unicorn T-shirt that she gets in The Tyrants Tomb!

I decided to also give her a slightly longer hairstyle, in keeping with her description in The Tower of Nero, to differentiate this minifigure from the first LEGO Meg minifigure I made (which you can see HERE)!

What do you guys think of this minifigure?

Also, as you can see, I am switching from daily LEGO posting to weekly posting. I think going forward I'll be posting LEGO on Saturdays or Sundays!

Anyway, here is your hint for Minifigure #39! Let me know your guesses in the comments!

ACT III: Mortality of my Post-ToA Fanfic To Be Mortal is out now!

(art of my OCs by Ann Joanne on Instagram. Check out more of her work HERE!)

I'm so excited to announce that the final act of my PJO longfic has finally started releasing! I've had the idea for this fic in my mind since I was a child reading Percy Jackson for the first time! Back then, Heroes of Olympus hadn't even been released yet!

Years later, I have finally written it (with some adjustments to take into account the various sequel series) and I'm so excited to share it with all of you. I started releasing chapters weekly in July... and I can't believe we're in ACT III already. The final 10 chapters! 😮

To Be Mortal is set 7 years after the end of The Trials of Apollo. It reintroduces us to the PJO world and our favourite characters (like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase), who are all older and more mature now.

We see how they react when they meet OCs Narina Lin and Adrian Vale, who both raise questions they’ve never encountered before!

The story explores the clash/intersection between Science and Mythology, as well as the growing tensions between gods, demigods and humans!

The first Act is a mystery arc, the second is a romantic arc (with STEM-romance flavour) and the final act ties it all together (and is the most action-packed!).

LEGO PJO Project: Bianca di Angelo (Books)!

Lots of you guessed this one from last post's hint, which featured her iconic green hat! Minifigure #37 is Bianca di Angelo! (Alive this time! 😅). Requested by RepublicCreative522 on Reddit!

What do you guys think of this one? 😀

By the way, I am nearly done working through my backlog of LEGO photos... so in the near future I might switch from daily to weekly posts! Not for lack of ideas, but LEGO is expensive so it might be a while before I buy more new parts! Hope you guys understand!

That being said, do suggest more group photos! If they feature characters that I've already made in LEGO form I'll definitely be able to do those! 😀 Best way is to send me an ask!

Alright, here is your clue for Minifigure #38! Let me know your guesses in the comments!

LEGO PJO Project: Daughters of Aphrodite (Books)!

I've been having a lot of fun with group photos lately, so here's another one! The head counselors of Cabin 10!

From left to right:

Hope you guys like this one! You can click on their names to see their individual photos too if you're interested!

As always, the CHB logos were added to the photo in post, as there is no official LEGO CHB print as of now. The original version can be seen at the bottom of this post!

But first... a poll and then your hint for the next Minifigure! Let me know your guesses for Minifigure #37 in the comments!

Anything but actually writing my master thesis rn…

Headcanon 1: Annabeth has very, VERY thick and abundant hair, which is technically canon if we follow Percy’s obsession with her hair in the books. But also I like to think it keeps breaking hair ties in the most inconvenient/funniest moments: in the middle of fighting monsters, mid kiss, when she’s brushing her teeth, mid argument, etc. Imagine during serious moments when the room is silent or awkward and suddenly you hear a snap! and Annabeth’s hair comes down it’s usual ponytail.

Headcanon 2: Percy always carries spare ponytails/scrunchies in his pockets because of this. It started before they were even dating. After Estelle is born Percy mindlessly puts one of Estelle’s baby hair ties on his pockets and at the end of the day you see Annabeth wearing an Elsa rainbow massive hair ponytail with bows and glitter. Percy unconsciously likes buying random scrunchies/hair ties he finds at store because they remind her of Annabeth. She treasures and keeps them all.

This one is actually canon but never explored further in the books?: When monsters are defeated they don’t explode in guts or blood, the explode in gold glitter. I always try to remember it when drawing them after monster fights but always forget. Percabeth and other demigods always have some sort of gold glitter on them no matter how hard they try to shake it or wash it off, because even magical gold glitter is impossible to shake off fully. It would be some sort of like, secret signal demigods have between each other: if you see someone with a suspicious amount of gold glitter around them or their things, they’re most likely a demigod.

(Very obviously inspired by the subway scene in Takedown by Huntrix but also oddly enough by Heart2Heart Junn and Ian’s part in The Chase?? Idk, anytime that part comes in I imagine them epically annihilating some monsters…)

This art is SO COOL!! It's so dynamic! And look at all those details? I love how the grey streak goes all the way through her braid!

(Also those are great headcanons!)

LEGO PJO Project: The Villains (Books)! Who is WORSE?

When it comes to the original five books of the Riordanverse... these two are probably the first that come to mind when I think "villain". So I thought it would be interesting to do a group photo of their two LEGO minifigures together!

I'm also curious to know your opinions:

LEGO PJO Project: The Three Wise Girls

It's finally here, the long awaited follow up to my LEGO Into the Jacksonverse post (which you can see HERE if you're interested)!

This one was requested by my friend u/Worldly_String2717 on Reddit!

From left to right:

  • Alexandra Daddario's Annabeth from the movies from the 2010s!
  • Annabeth from the books!
  • Leah Jeffries' Annabeth from the Disney+ TV series!

You can check out their individual photos here: Movies, books, TV!

What do you guys think of this one? And which is your favourite Annabeth of the three? Let me know in the comments!

As always, the CHB logo was added to the photo in post, as there is no official LEGO CHB print as of now. The original version can be seen down below!

LEGO PJO Project: Beckengard (Books)!

And here's the runner up of the poll! Beckengard!! Featuring the longest quote I've used so far... 😅

Hope you guys like this one!

As always, the CHB logos were added to the photo in post, as there is no official LEGO CHB print as of now. The original version can be seen at the bottom of this post!

Coming up next... another group photo. One that is a follow up to my very popular Into the Jacksonverse post (which you can see HERE)! I'm really excited to share it with you guys!

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